Internal Practices From Thailand & Indonesia

[Mikey_Power_Up]

If I play my cards right, I will spend most of my summer and fall in Thailand and maybe a little bit of time in Indonesia. Most are familiar with the internal alchemy and energy practices of China and India, but do nations like Thailand and Indonesia have their own internal arts traditions? 

I know that Indonesia has Tenaga Dalam , I tried Tridaya a few years ago and it was amazing, I even played with Yellow Bamboo techniques and enjoyed it.  I  don't care about chi-blasting ppl!

What does Thailand have? 

[Mudfoot]

Theravada buddhism? 

[Mikey_Power_Up]

4 minutes ago, Mudfoot said:

Theravada buddhism? 

 

True. I guess I'm looking for something a little less ritualistic/dogma heavy and more energy-related from the beginning. My overarching belief is that it is all in the body, so words are just forces that prime people for certain experiences. 

[SirYuri]

I practice Tenaga Dalam from Indonesia fot 10 yrs already , while Im from the Philippines but I go to Indonesia every 4months for training. Hit me up.

[Earl Grey]

Thailand has a couple of practitioners I know who do a version of Wing Chun that was internal before it became externalized with Ip Man moving forward to be more mass appealing, and they can Fa Jin. The senior student is in Bangkok, but he isn't teaching, and the master is living in Canada but still goes there around September. 

 

Indonesia has a ton of practices depending on where you go, but I've found central Java around Yogyakarta and in the isle of Bali itself you'll find many practices that are both martial and theurgic. 

[freeform]

Many internal arts practitioners in Thailand. If you go to parks early in the morning and befriend some people from the Chinese diaspora, you’ll soon find  Neigong and internal martial arts people. Just be cautious and look for virtuous behaviour...

[Vajra Fist]

There's a Facebook page for something called 'Internal Pugilism Thailand' that regularly posts to a bagua group I'm part of. They seem to have excellent teachers and good students. Might be worth looking up

[Mikey_Power_Up]

That was in 2018! My plans changed and now I'm not traveling anywhere for a loooooooooong time. 

[Maddie]

On 5/11/2018 at 12:23 PM, Mikey_Power_Up said:

 

 My overarching belief is that it is all in the body. 

 

I'm curious as to why you have this view?

[C T]

Thailand - sometimes known as the land of a million talismans. They have a talisman for every single affliction known to man. Its big business too. The more one pays, the better access to 'real' talismans imbued with power to do whatever one desires, be it business success, material wealth, relationship success, protection against enemies, both seen and unseen, and works even for those with unethical and/or immoral intentions. The ones who empower these talismans, mostly 'Buddhist' by root, believe that Buddha's blessings are free from bias, and even 'bad' people have the potential to become good, and good people too, can sometimes turn bad. In that sense, there is no judgement, just a commercial deal. 

 

I've come into contact with folks who've studied martial arts in Thailand, both internal & external forms (muay thai). 

The internal artists whom I know... they all have access to esoteric knowledge and magik, means to ends. They channel certain energies, and some act as conduits for supernatural 'powers' to manifest in this realm. They all rely heavily on amulets and talismans.

 

While in trance, their bodies become impervious to pain, and they sometimes perform penance by subjecting themselves to various extreme masochistic acts, usually in the form of fire walking, dipping hands in hot oil, skewering themselves from head to toe with steel rods, having their tongues sliced by sharp swords and pierced by various objects, sitting in meditation on beds of razor sharp nails, free suspension by attaching cords to hooks embedded to various parts of the body, etc. At times these same points are chained to chariots which they pull for some distance during processions. These feats are performed coinciding with certain religious festivals, and is believed to aid cleansing of both the gross and subtle body. These forms of extreme penance is not unique to Thailand. Countries like Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Indonesia, and Malaysia share similar beliefs and practices, adapted to suit individual cultures. 

Edited April 12, 2020 by C T

[Earl Grey]

1 minute ago, C T said:

Countries like Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Indonesia, and Malaysia share similar beliefs and practices, adapted to suit individual cultures. 

 

Found this especially true in both Java and Bali. 

 

Cambodia has some interesting Buddhist-influenced shamans too around Siem Reap province, and this is where it's important not to totally write off people who do things like Reiki, as one of them, an amicable Frenchman who runs a spa that offers massages and Reiki, is friends with these individuals and connects visitors with the indigenous shamans there. 

[C T]

3 minutes ago, Earl Grey said:

 

Found this especially true in both Java and Bali. 

 

Cambodia has some interesting Buddhist-influenced shamans too around Siem Reap province, and this is where it's important not to totally write off people who do things like Reiki, as one of them, an amicable Frenchman who runs a spa that offers massages and Reiki, is friends with these individuals and connects visitors with the indigenous shamans there. 

 

In most cases, without such go-betweens its 99% certain one will never gain access to those with real juice, isn't it. 

[Earl Grey]

25 minutes ago, C T said:

 

In most cases, without such go-betweens its 99% certain one will never gain access to those with real juice, isn't it. 

 

Yup, so for all my criticisms of the New Age groups and their practices, this doesn't mean that they don't have their little surprises from time to time.